While some school systems have added financial literacy to their curricula, many have not, and in the end, responsibility for ensuring your offspring are ready for adult financial life is on your shoulders. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can add to your teens' practical knowledge.

In 2011, 45 percent of recent college grads were living with their parents. So for students hoping to graduate into a real job -- and a real apartment -- the question becomes how to get the biggest return on investment for their a college education while incurring the smallest possible debt.

Everyone has things they want to improve about their financial lives -- even the staff of DailyFinance. So we asked money expert Jean Chatzky for advice on how to reach our goals, and we're sharing her answers with you. First up: An editor looking ahead to college tuition bills.

More than 80% of parents of 16- to 18-year-olds believe college is important to their child's future -- and a similar number are worried about how to pay for it. Here are a few tips that could make solving the college financing puzzle a little easier.

A host of websites exist to steer parents toward private- and government-sponsored student loans, grants and scholarships. Here are five notable sites to help cut through college aid information overload.

Collegians are having to become more careful consumers, as high-quality jobs become scarce and interest rates on student loans are set to increase. A comparison of the average return on investment for over 1,200 American colleges and universities offers some clues on how to choose.

Former President Bill Clinton will be giving the commencement address at NYU in May. But considering the university has the highest student debt load in the country, is this the right institution for Clinton to endorse?

From online databases to essay-writing tips, college scholarship expert Mark Kantrowitz, founder of free scholarship-matching service Fastweb.com, has scads of advice for the many ways students can boost their odds of winning money to pay for college.

Getting a college degree in dance can easily leave an aspiring performer crushed under the heel of student loan debt -- but it doesn't have to be that way. College finance expert Zac Bissonnette points out a path around the pitfalls of a performing arts education.

For years now, private college tuition has risen far faster than inflation, a fact that colleges have used a fancy theory called Baumol's Law to explain away. Unfortunately for families who pay over $200,000 to send a child to one of those schools, the comparative value of the education rarely justifies the higher price.

As a new wave of high school students enter the college admissions horse race, here's a bit of advice for their parents: Stop looking at your kid and worrying about why he doesn't seem interested in getting into a top school. Instead, look in the mirror and worry about why you do care so much.

card companies, leading some to wonder if college students are being exploited by the industry. But here are the real numbers: The average college student graduates with about $4,100 in credit card debt, and $24,000 in student loans. Which is the bigger problem?

On a recent Today Show Money 911 segment, a caller said she'd filed for bankruptcy -- but that didn't free her from her student loans. She then asked how bankruptcy would affect her ability to get more student loans. Clearly, she isn't learning the right lesson from Chapter 11.

Parents concerned that their children will suffer academically if they work during college shouldn't worry. Studies have found that students who work not only getting higher GPAs, but are better prepared for the workforce post-graduation.